Appliance, appliance network system, and connection method thereof

Abstract

Provided is an appliance network system capable of minimizing power consumption of an appliance by turning on a WiFi module of the appliance when required, the appliance network system including a terminal device, a server configured to receive an appliance control command from the terminal device and transmit the received appliance control command to a hub device, the hub device configured to, in response to receiving the appliance control command from the server, transmit a wake-up signal to an appliance through Bluetooth communication, and the appliance including a wireless fidelity (WiFi) module and a Bluetooth module, and configured to, in response to receiving the wake up signal from the hub device by the Bluetooth module, turn on the WiFi module from an off state.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An appliance comprising:
 a WiFi module configured to perform wireless fidelity (WiFi) communication with an access point (AP) and communicate with a terminal device through the AP; 
 a Bluetooth module configured to perform Bluetooth communication with a Bluetooth device, wherein the Bluetooth device is configured to transmit a wake-up signal to the appliance in response to receiving an appliance control command transmitted from the terminal device; and 
 a controller configured to, in response to receiving the wake-up signal by the Bluetooth module, turn on the WiFi module in an off state. 
 
     
     
       2. The appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, upon the WiFi module not receiving the appliance control command from the terminal device within a preset time, turn off the WiFi module. 
     
     
       3. The appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a storage,
 wherein:
 the controller is further configured to, while increasing or decreasing a strength of a Bluetooth signal output by the Bluetooth module, determine a minimum value of the Bluetooth signal at which the Bluetooth module is connected to the Bluetooth device, and 
 the storage is configured to store the determined minimum value of the Bluetooth signal. 
 
 
     
     
       4. The appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 upon a connection of the Bluetooth module to the Bluetooth device, decrease the strength of the Bluetooth signal output by the Bluetooth module, and 
 upon a cancellation of the connection between the Bluetooth module and the Bluetooth device during the decreasing of the strength of the Bluetooth signal, increase the strength of the Bluetooth signal output by the Bluetooth module. 
 
     
     
       5. The appliance of  claim 4 , wherein the controller is further configured to, upon a connection of the Bluetooth module to the Bluetooth device during the increasing of the strength of the Bluetooth signal, determine the strength of the Bluetooth signal output by the Bluetooth module as the minimum value. 
     
     
       6. The appliance of  claim 5 , wherein the controller is further configured to, upon a connection of the Bluetooth module to the Bluetooth device during the increasing of the strength of the Bluetooth signal, maintain the strength of the Bluetooth signal output by the Bluetooth module. 
     
     
       7. The appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a value of strength for the Bluetooth signal output by the Bluetooth module based on a plurality of values of strength for the Bluetooth signal stored in the storage. 
     
     
       8. The appliance of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to control the Bluetooth module to output the Bluetooth signal having the determined value of strength. 
     
     
       9. An appliance network system comprising:
 a terminal device; 
 a server configured to:
 receive an appliance control command from the terminal device, and 
 transmit the received appliance control command to a hub device; 
 
 the hub device configured to, in response to receiving the appliance control command from the server, transmit a wake-up signal to an appliance through Bluetooth communication; and 
 the appliance including a wireless fidelity (WiFi) module and a Bluetooth module, and is configured to, in response to the Bluetooth module receiving the wake-up signal from the hub device, turn on the WiFi module in an off state. 
 
     
     
       10. The appliance network system of  claim 9 , wherein the appliance is further configured to, in response to not receiving the appliance control command from the terminal device within a preset time, turn off the WiFi module. 
     
     
       11. The appliance network system of  claim 9 , wherein the appliance is further configured to turn on the WiFi module to receive a WiFi signal from the hub device or an access point (AP). 
     
     
       12. The appliance network system of  claim 11 , wherein the hub device is provided with an AP module to serve as an AP. 
     
     
       13. The appliance network system of  claim 9 , wherein the appliance is located within a preset radius based on the hub device. 
     
     
       14. The appliance network system of  claim 9 , wherein the appliance is further configured to maintain the Bluetooth module in an on state. 
     
     
       15. A connection method of an appliance network, the connection method comprising:
 transmitting, by a terminal device, an appliance control command to a server; 
 transmitting, by the server, the appliance control command received from the terminal device to a hub device; 
 receiving, by the hub device, the appliance control command from the server; 
 transmitting, by the hub device, a wake up signal to an appliance through Bluetooth communication; 
 receiving, by the appliance including a wireless fidelity (WiFi) module and a Bluetooth module, the wake up signal from the hub device through the Bluetooth module; and 
 turning on, by the appliance, the WiFi module from an off state in response to receiving the wake up signal. 
 
     
     
       16. The connection method of  claim 15 , further comprising, in response to the appliance not receiving the appliance control command from the terminal device within a preset time, turning off the WiFi module. 
     
     
       17. The connection method of  claim 15 , further comprising turning on, by the appliance, the WiFi module, to receive a WiFi signal from the hub device or an access point (AP). 
     
     
       18. The connection method of  claim 17 , wherein the hub device is provided with an AP module to serve as an AP. 
     
     
       19. The connection method of  claim 15 , wherein the appliance is located within a preset radius based on the hub device. 
     
     
       20. The connection method of  claim 15 , wherein the appliance is configured to maintain the Bluetooth module in an on state.